Thursday, October 3, 2024

Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for October 4, 2024


 
It's time for the latest weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with Masters of the Universe in general, Agatha All Along and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general, Transformers One, season 2 of The Rings of Power, The Legend of Vox Machina, Megalopolis, Hold Your Breath, Lock Back, The Penguin, Joker: Folie a Deux, The Wild Robot, Dan Da Dan, Salem's Lot, Terrifier 3, The Substance, It's What's Inside, Apartment 7A, House of Soils, V/H/S Bayond, The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, Star Wars Rebels at ten and Star Wars in general, tributes to Maggie Smith and Kris Kristofferson and much more.

Speculative fiction in general:
 
Comics and Art:
 
Film and TV:
 
Comments on Masters of the Universe in general: 
 
Comments on Agatha All Along and the Marvel Cinematic and TV Universe in general: 
 
Comments on Transformers One:  
 
Comments on season 3 of The Legend of Vox Machina:
 
Comments on The Rings of Power: 
 
Comments on The Wild Robot: 
 
Comments on Megalopolis: 
 
 Comments on Hold Your Breath:
 
Comments on Look Back: 
 
Comments on the new Salem's Lot:
 
Comments on It's What's Inside: 
 
Comments on The Substance: 
 
Comments on Apartment 7A: 
 
Comments on Dan Da Dan:
 
Comments on House of Spoils:
 
Comments on V/H/S Beyond: 
 
 
Comments on The Penguin: 
 
Comments on The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon: 
 
Comments on Star Wars: Rebels at ten and Star Wars in general: 
 
Tributes to Maggie Smith:
 
Tributes to Kris Kristofferson:
Awards:

Writing, publishing and promotion: 
 
Interviews:
 
Reviews:
 
Classics reviews:
 
Crowdfunding:
 
Con and event reports:
 
Science and technology:
 
Toys and collectibles:
 
 

 

 

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Wednesday, October 2, 2024

The Dream Haunters: A Metaphysical Mystery of Magick by Megan Mary (Witches of Maple Hollow Book 1)

 


Release date: October 3rd, 2024
Sub-genres: Mystery, Fantasy, Supernatural, Speculative, Metaphysical, Women's Fiction, New Adult


About The Dream Haunters:


Hannah Skye, a young woman in search of meaning, receives a cryptic letter from her missing and eccentric Aunt Jewelia. Her experience of a recurring powerful pumpkin patch dream unfolds into a spiritual journey to a mysterious island of eternal autumn, Maple Hollow, where she discovers the mystical Skye Manor and her magickal family legacy.

Haunted by shapeshifters bent on trapping people in their nightmares, Hannah, with the help of wise villagers and feline companions (including a talking cat dream guide), must solve the riddle, unlock her powers, and dive into the dream dimension to save her aunt by Halloween night, when the veil between the worlds is thinnest.

Escape into this metaphysical mystery of magick, where spells, music, and dreams converge in a vortex of secret societies and spiritual inheritance. Travel beyond time and space into a world of unexpected portals, ancient traditions, and dreamscapes.


Excerpt:


A sudden clap of thunder broke the silence. Jewelia’s eyes snapped open. Jarred out of her placid place of meditation, she reached for a pad of paper. She wrote and then stopped, holding her pen just away from the paper as if in a channeled trance, then continued on, only to stop again a few words later. Once her words had fully inked the page, she folded the letter and placed it in a small white envelope. She firmly pressed a stamp into the red wax simmering nearby, sealed the envelope, and wrote 

Hannah 

in large letters in the middle.

She rose quickly from her seat, the cat springing off her lap. She ran out to the foyer, then down the long dark hallway toward the back door, grabbing a cloak hanging on a nearby hook and departing from the shelter of her home. 

Skye Manor sat in the middle of an enormous, circular pumpkin patch. There was one straight path that led from the manor through the center of the patch, ending at the sea. This path was lined on both sides with immensely tall cypress trees. They stood like guards, perfectly lined up, creating a dark corridor to the water. Jewelia ran down this corridor toward the shore, cutting through the patch.

The storm swirled around her, thunder cracking and breaking across the sky. She headed for the dock, heart pounding in her chest. The wind whipped the trees, making them swirl as if they would be lifted right out of their roots, their branches thrashing to and fro. The rain beat on Jewelia’s head and shoulders as she approached the dock.

On the dock, she knelt down and reached for the ropes that held the rowboat, her long black hair wet and matted against her face. She untangled them one by one until the small craft was freed from its attachments. It bobbed up and down on the rough water, ready to float away of its own accord. Steadying herself on a wooden dock post wrapped in weathered rope, Jewelia stepped into the boat, first her right foot, then her left. She sat on the wet wooden seat and fished around for the oars below her.

She began to row, pushing and straining the muscles in her arms, heaving back and bracing her legs. She was rowing as hard and fast as she could. She made it away from the dock and headed south, along the shore, further and further from the manor and around the bend of the tiny island. The rain fell harder and harder, as if it were trying to prevent her from proceeding any further. But she paddled on, exerting herself as much as she could. 

As she rowed, she began to chant—softly at first, the words a whisper under her heavy breath. They formed a rhythm of their own as they dropped from her lips into the foggy air that had begun to envelope both her and the boat. She started to chant louder, the words becoming an incantation, carrying her emotions on the wind, swirling around her and rising out of her body.

Suddenly, a colossal thunderclap boomed above her, followed by a magnificent strike of lightning. White light, as bright as if she stood next to the moon itself, surrounded her, and then there was total silent darkness. 

Jewelia had vanished.

Amazon.com | MeganMary.com | Books2Read



About Megan Mary:





Metaphysical author Megan Mary, a dream analyst, intuitive, and mystic, intertwines her passion for personal transformation, magick, and cats with the ethereal realm of dreams.

In addition to a career spanning over twenty-five years creating, managing and marketing websites, she holds a BA and an MA in English Literature, certification in British Studies, and is a member of the International Association for the Study of Dreams.

After being diagnosed with three chronic illnesses, she experienced a spiritual awakening. She now empowers women all over the world to live more authentic, aligned, and abundant lives through dream empowerment and mystical guidance. Her podcast, Women’s Dream Enlightenment, has been voted as one of the Top 20 Spiritual Awakening Podcasts You Must Follow. When she’s not dreaming or weaving digital webs, she enjoys spending time with her husband and two magickal cats.

Website|Twitter/X|Instagram|Threads|Pinterest|YouTube|
TikTok|LinkTree|LinkedIn
 





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interview with Victory Witherkeigh, author of The Demon

 


Today it gives the Speculative Fiction Showcase great pleasure to interview Victory Witherkeigh, whose novel The Demon had its debut on October 1, 2024.

Welcome back to the Speculative Fiction Showcase. We’re here to discuss your latest novel The Demon, which is a companion novel to your first, award-winning novel The Girl. How does The Demon relate to The Girl?

Thank you! It feels great to be back. I wrote my debut novel, The Girl, as a companion book to my second novel, The Demon, which will be released on October 1, 2024. For those who read The Girl, the story will pick up right from where she was standing, so to speak, and there may be a few characters who make another appearance in the demon’s story.

Why did you want to write a novel from the point of view of the demon?

When I reached the end of The Girl, I realized I had more questions about the characters and their journey. I wanted to explore the deeper complexities of what it means to “come of age,” as I felt so many of the stories stop just as high school ended. Plus, I always felt like something was missing in the traditional possession of horror stories in the assumption of what the entities want when they possess people.

What part does Filipino/PI mythology play in The Demon and how has it influenced your imagination of the demon’s character?

There are still so many deities and legends across the Pacific Islands to explore. People forget that the over seven thousand one hundred islands that make up the Philippines never had a united state before colonial rule. There are many islands whose language dialects and pre-colonial history show they interacted more with the other Pacific Islands, allowing certain myths and stories to carry on through the various cultures. This permitted the magic and memories of the demon’s character to be as complex and imaginative as the islands’ history.

How do you humanize – or make relatable – a character who is a demon?

As I mentioned, I always found it interesting that in all the horror writings and stories I’d read, there really wasn’t a perspective from the view of the entity. I think breaking the character down to the initial situation helped me as the writer - this cosmic entity has essentially been in a holding pattern for hundreds of years, cut off from their ‘old’ way of life. That type of isolation always has consequences for everything - regardless of the class or level you once had. Nothing stays the same, especially when you leave.

How much did you draw on the mythology you remembered from childhood as compared with your own research?

I used both as much as I could. Obviously, the stories I remember as a kid helped influence the characters I liked or remembered to start my journey in writing the books, but I knew I needed to review the research out there as an adult because family stories can always have extra embellishments that are not part of the original myths and legends.

Why is it important to include that mythological element and how does it differ from the standard tropes of YA Fantasy?

I needed to include these mythological elements in my stories to add to the diversity of non-Western tropes in genres like YA fantasy. Exploring a world like this allows my characters to explore the journey of early adulthood and what it can mean to embrace or run away from one’s cultural identity. As people transition to the reality of what it means to be considered a “legal adult,” there are a lot of mistakes and bumps in reconciling what you thought you wanted and the fantasy of what you thought would happen.

What impact does your identity as a Filipino-American have on your writing process and your experience as an author?

My multiple cultural identities allow me to showcase a different world point of view from all readers of my stories. I hope it allows for different avenues for people to learn new perspectives or even find themselves in new ways in my writing.

Tell us more about the themes of colonization/colonialism and what part they play in The Demon.

I wanted to give the demon a firsthand understanding of what it means to be the product of multiple generations of family trauma, especially when people accuse her of being the cause. The journey of one’s identity only comes about as we explore our cultural and familial history to see what generational traumas may still carry their scars and consequences through our DNA, regardless of our intentions.

How much does the story deal with inner demons and what part do these play in relation to the fictional demon of the title?

Oooh, I love you picked up on that! Even The Girl and The Demon’s titles have a purpose to the story. It is easy for adults to forget the trials and tribulations of growing up. We can easily just try to tell kids the answer to the problem instead of remembering that the lessons can’t or won’t stick until that child’s brain experiences enough to receive and take in that message. While the demon needs to face her own shortcomings, yes, those shortcomings can be just as objectively stereotypical and horrible and predictable because that’s what happens when we go out into the world. We face predicaments where we pick the wrong people to love, don’t put enough faith in our self-worth, or encourage toxic relationships. Those tropes exist because we repeat those mistakes, regardless of how much information is online. So the titles of the books are open as an archetype that people can see or even remember when they didn’t make the “adult” decision.

Why did you choose to focus on the experience of going to college as opposed to attending high school?

I chose the experience of going to college because I often felt that high school romanticized college and adulthood so much that it appeared to have an instant happy ending. I wanted to have a story that explores the consequences of getting to the place you thought you always wanted to be and having it not work the way you wanted. It’s one of the biggest life lessons for young adults—how do you adapt when life doesn’t go the way you planned?

How far has your approach to writing changed since you wrote The Girl?

Oh man, writing The Demon was a completely different approach than The Girl. For The Girl, I was a complete ‘pantser,’ writing and rewriting whatever I felt with no plan. The Demon was a full ‘plotter’ exercise - writing a fully detailed outline and deadlines was a brand unaccustomed exercise in structure and editing for me.

What are you working on now?

I just got back from a research trip for another book and may use NaNoWriMo to help inspire me to put my research notes on paper…after a nap.


BookBaby | Amazon | Barnes & Noble 


About Victory Witherkeigh:




VICTORY WITHERKEIGH is an award-winning female Filipino/PI author from Los Angeles, CA. Her debut novel, The Girl, was published in December 2022 with Cinnabar Moth Publishing. The Girl has been a finalist for Killer Nashville’s 2020 Claymore Award and was long-listed in the 2022 CIBA OZMA Fantasy Book Awards. The Girl won Third Place for YA Thriller in the 2023 Spring The Bookfest Awards. Her creative content creation for her Author TikTok also won First Place in the 2023 Spring The Bookfest Awards for Creative Content. She has short story print publications in horror anthologies such as Supernatural Drabbles of Dread through Macabre Ladies Publishing, Bodies Full of Burning through Sliced Up Press, In Filth It Shall Be Found through OutCast Press, and Nightmare Fuel’s 2022 Edition: Objects of Horror, etc. 

Photo credit: Kat Goodloe

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

 


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